Academy City
Academy City, the setting of the game.
In my previous life, Marado had been located at Korea’s southernmost point, but in the world I had reincarnated into, Academy City stood at the southernmost point.
“Gyeonu, over there! I can see it over there!”
“…You’re right. I can see it now.”
“I can’t believe that’s an island made by people. It’s incredible…”
After hearing the captain’s announcement that we would soon be able to see Academy City,
Yeon Haneul and I, who had been lazing around inside the ship, went out onto the deck like everyone else and took in the sight of Academy City.
The hazy shape at the edge of the horizon was gradually revealing its true form.
‘It’s my first time seeing it in person too. No wonder Haneul is impressed.’
As I listened to Yeon Haneul chatter,
I recalled how Academy City had been described in the game.
An artificial island made up of twenty-five administrative districts, as if Seoul itself had been scaled down.
A collective body of educational institutions established to raise outstanding Hunters.
A paradise on earth for Korean Hunters, where autonomy by Hunters was guaranteed.
And, with just as much darkness lurking beneath, a lawless zone for those with power.
‘So I’m going to have to spend the next three years in a place like that.’
As someone who had loved this game in my previous life, my heart did flutter, but when I thought about all the trouble I would go through because of the events to come, I couldn’t simply be excited.
Still, for this moment alone, I decided to enjoy it purely.
The triplets, however, apparently did not feel the same.
“Bleeergh…”
“…”
Ever since boarding the ship from Jeju Island, the triplets had been suffering from severe seasickness.
The guys who had followed us out onto the deck couldn’t even get a proper look at Academy City and just kept retching.
Clinging to the railing as if they were about to die, they looked pathetic as they scattered vomit into the sea.
Looking at them, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“We haven’t even been on the ship that long. Why are you making such a fuss?”
“H-have you ever been seasick?”
“Have you ever been seasiiick…?”
“Have you… bleeergh!”
Pathetic. Truly pathetic.
It was embarrassing that kids like them were my underlings.
No, were they like that because they were underlings?
I clicked my tongue.
“Seriously, you guys say you want to become Hunters, but what are you going to do if you can’t even endure seasickness?”
“That’s why Haneul said she’d cast magic to help us adjust to the seasickness… urp!”
“Y-you were the one who told her not to… uuurgh!”
“You’re the one who said we shouldn’t rely on magic, bleeergh…”
I should have known from the moment they ate so much in the airport lounge before we took the plane from Incheon.
They sure were throwing up a lot.
Kree, kree!
It was so bad that perhaps rumors had spread that this was some kind of famous restaurant, because seagulls were circling around the triplets.
“Gyeonu, they look like they’re having such a hard time. Wouldn’t it be better to cast magic on them even now?”
“Did I say anything wrong? You need to reduce the attitude of relying on magic. What are you going to do if your magic gets dispelled, or you end up in a situation where you can’t use it? Are you going to die without even fighting because of seasickness? Besides, you guys use swords. Should swordsmen be relying on magic in the first place?”
“T-that old-fart basteeergh…”
Yeon Haneul seemed worried about the triplets, but it was fine. They wouldn’t die from that much.
It wasn’t as if I didn’t know the triplets’ stamina, and if they really felt like they were going to die, they wouldn’t have the strength to talk like that.
They might look like that, but they were guys who had grown after rolling and rolling under me for five years.
And I was not an old fart.
‘I’m just saying what’s obvious.’
You must not rely on magic.
You had to know how to improve and train yourself without relying on magic.
That was how you became strong.
Though I wasn’t sure whether seasickness could be improved without relying on magic.
I bore no ill will toward the triplets.
Really, none at all.
If anything, I had grown attached to them by now.
That was why I was being harsh on them. Yes.
“No, why did we have to take a ship…”
“It’s not like we don’t have money…”
“We should’ve just taken the warp gate…”
Meanwhile, even after the triplets had somewhat stabilized, they did not stop grumbling.
In their minds, taking the ship seemed to be extremely unsatisfactory.
‘Well, it’s not that I don’t understand.’
Should I call it entering the country?
For security reasons, Academy City could only be entered by way of Jeju Island.
At that point, there were mainly three means of transportation available for entry.
One was to go by ship like us, and another was to go by plane.
The last one was…
“If only we’d used the warp gate, we wouldn’t be suffering like this…”
“I was looking forward to riding the warp gate…”
“The warp gate…”
The warp gate the triplets had been muttering about until my ears were practically worn out.
An artifact always mentioned alongside artificial gates as something created by humanity, which had survived the Great Cataclysm, and which had advanced the world.
If one used a warp gate, which made the distance between coordinates zero and leaped through dimensions to the designated coordinates, one could enter Academy City in an instant.
‘Though the cost is just as considerable.’
Of course, it was not a cost that burdened me, a direct descendant of the Divine Sword Do Clan.
The same went for the triplets, who were sponsored by that clan, and Yeon Haneul, who was sponsored by Hong Yena, the Seven-Colored Witch. They all had the means to use a warp gate.
Even so, there was a reason I had deliberately decided to enter Academy City by ship.
‘Because Kang Hanbyeol entered this way too.’
In the game Brave Hearts, the prologue ends with Kang Hanbyeol, who had been taught by the Fighting Ghost Seo Jeongjin, descending into the world and heading to Academy City by ship.
「Kang Hanbyeol」
―Wow, so that’s Academy City!
At that time, the player could look around Academy City through Kang Hanbyeol.
Just like what we were seeing now.
I had deliberately chosen to take the ship in order to see the same scene as in the game.
More than anything…
‘Because Haneul said she wanted to try riding a ship.’
It was something that had happened last year.
While preparing for the written exam with me, Yeon Haneul had suddenly brought it up as if the thought had just occurred to her.
―Academy City is an artificial island, right? Then if we live in Academy City, we’ll end up seeing the sea a lot, won’t we?
―Probably. Why do you ask?
―No, just… I’ve never been to the sea before, so I want to see it with my own eyes.
―You’ve never been to the sea?
―No, I’ve never been even once. When would I ever have had a reason to go to the sea?
―…
―I’ve only seen it in photos or videos.
It had been five years since I became childhood friends with Yeon Haneul and since she started coming and going from our house.
Whenever our family went on trips, we would often take Yeon Haneul with us.
But when I heard her words then, I realized that, somehow, I had never gone to the sea with her.
―And before, I saw a photo of Academy City floating on the sea, and it was incredibly pretty. Pretty enough to make me think, “There’s a place like that in our country?”
―…Academy City has unstable dimensions, and the state of the atmospheric mana is different from here. Because of that, an environment different from this place is formed.
―Right, that’s why it feels like a mysterious place. Ah, I want to go soon. I want to go, see the sea, ride a ship, and see the view from that photo. Though I’ll have to pass the written exam before that.
―Then you’ll definitely have to pass.
―Yeah! I will.
That memory had remained vivid in my mind.
So I had decided to take the ship in order to grant Yeon Haneul’s wish.
And it seemed I had made the right choice after all.
“The view is so pretty. Even the color of the sea has changed now. It really is different from the surrounding environment.”
Because Yeon Haneul was happy.
That was enough.
The triplets were none of my concern.
I called out to the guys sitting collapsed on the floor.
“Underlings Gold, Silver, Bronze.”
“…”
“If you’re just going to sit there like that, go inside and buy us something to drink.”
“We’re suffering here, and you…”
“Haneul, is there anything you want to drink?”
“Me? Mm… The sea breeze is blowing, and the weather’s a little chilly too, so I want something warm and sweet. I wonder if they have warm strawberry milk? If not, I’d like something with strawberry or chocolate.”
“You heard her, right? I’ll have hot chocolate. Ah, make it warm.”
Yeon Haneul no longer had any particular resistance to ordering the triplets around.
She had grown so used to it that the menu came out naturally.
Meanwhile, the triplets’ faces soured after receiving the order.
“Haneul’s been corrupted too…”
“Looks like we’ll be errand boys for life…”
“Should we just buy mint chocolate out of spite?”
“Stop talking back and hurry up. And if you buy mint chocolate, you know what’ll happen, right?”
When that time came, I would have to toss them straight into the sea.
It wasn’t that I hated mint chocolate.
It simply wasn’t to my taste.
In any case, after chasing the triplets away, I approached Yeon Haneul’s side.
At that moment, she let out a light giggle.
“Even though you talk so coldly, the truth is you were worried about the twins and told them to go inside and rest, weren’t you? You could’ve just told them to go rest, but you went out of your way… You were embarrassed, huh?”
“…”
…No. That wasn’t it. It really wasn’t.
Yeon Haneul was misunderstanding things however she liked.
I was about to correct her misunderstanding, but decided to let her keep misunderstanding.
To correct it, I would have to explain at length, and then it would only look like I was making excuses.
“Enough. Let’s just look around.”
“Yeah! By the way, the weather is cooold…”
“Can’t you warm yourself with magic?”
“…You told me not to rely on magic.”
“You can.”
“Why is it okay for me?”
“Because I’m right next to you.”
“…”
“You’re a mage, and I’m a swordsman. If one side is put at a disadvantage, the other side can…”
“Yeah, of course.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing. Ah, but now even my hands are getting cold…”
“I told you, warm yourself with magic.”
“…”
“Or should we go inside and warm up?”
“No. I’ll just warm up while drinking the hot drink the twins bring us. Let’s keep watching the sea like this.”
* * *
The triplets bought the drinks.
Then, saying they would rest inside, they only handed us the drinks and went back.
Sip.
As I drank the hot chocolate they had given me,
I opened my status window.
[Personal Information]
Name: Do Gyeonu (Male · 17)
Alias: Rabbit and 2 others [+Details]
Affiliation: Raon Middle School
[Owned Gift]
Evasion Instinct
[Physical Abilities]
Stamina: 37 → 65 (62+3)
Strength: 34 → 59
Endurance: 32 → 55
Agility: 43 → 71 (68+3)
Magic Power: 30 → 48
Luck: 25 → 32
Remaining Points: 1 [+Details]
The achievements I had made over the past five years were recorded there.
My stamina, strength, endurance, and agility had risen greatly.
The amount of mana inside my body had not increased much, but instead, my mana efficiency had improved.
I had paid relatively less attention to luck, so it had not risen by much.
Even so, it was an achievement I could be plenty proud of.
However, it was not as if I had no regrets.
‘If only I’d had a proper environment, I could have raised them higher…’
Once each stat exceeded 50, the growth rate slowed.
The experience required had increased, and the threshold for pushing myself to the limit had risen as well.
Because of that, there was inevitably a limit to raising my stats through ordinary training.
‘Still, once I train in Academy City and experience the game’s story, they’ll probably start rising well again.’
Surely that would happen.
I decided not to dwell on my regrets.
Meanwhile, my thoughts turned elsewhere.
‘I still won’t be able to meet Kang Hanbyeol yet.’
In the game, Kang Hanbyeol does not enter through the entrance exam, but through special admission due to some agreement between Seo Jeongjin and the chairman.
As a result, he, who was already drawing attention for being the disciple of the Fighting Ghost, draws even more attention.
If one could call it the protagonist’s fate, then that was his fate.
Right about now, he was probably being rolled under Seo Jeongjin without even knowing that the exam existed.
In the end, I would meet Kang Hanbyeol only after enrolling in Geumgang Academy.
Unfortunately, it seemed I would have to wait a little longer before meeting him.
“What are you thinking about so hard?”
At that moment, perhaps finding it strange that I had fallen silently into thought,
Yeon Haneul suddenly spoke to me.
I decided to give her a vague answer.
“…I was thinking about the exam. Geumgang Academy’s practical exam is famous for being much harder than the other academies’.”
“Are you getting nervous now? Didn’t you say before that Geumgang Academy would be a piece of cake?”
“I never said it would be a piece of cake.”
“Still, the nuance was that we’d get in no matter what. You said that since you and I are strong, we’d be able to pass regardless of what the exam was like. You even said the triplets were unreliable but would still make it. Are you changing your tune now?”
“No, we’ll pass.”
“Then there’s no need to worry. Whatever Geumgang Academy’s exam is like, we’ll do well. Right?”
“Right, right.”
Even though there was no guarantee we would pass, Yeon Haneul seemed to have no doubts whatsoever about my assurance.
Seeing her speak so playfully made me let out a faint laugh.
It was right then that someone spoke to us.
“Are you two going to take the Geumgang Academy exam too, by any chance?”
“…”
“I thought I heard you mention Geumgang Academy just now. If I’m wrong, sorry.”
A woman approached us with an amiable smile.
She had brown hair, and even though this was our first time meeting, she spoke to us without the slightest hesitation.
‘So I’m seeing her here.’
I knew who she was.
After all, she was a character who appeared in the game as one of Kang Hanbyeol’s party members.
The “self-proclaimed” loner, Go Eunbi.
I never imagined Go Eunbi would be on the same ship as us.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I opened my mouth.
“We are applying to Geumgang Academy. Are you applying there too?”
Might as well get acquainted while I had the chance.
* * *
According to the game’s setting, Go Eunbi was a ranger-type character with a cheerful and easygoing personality. She was so good at getting along with all sorts of people that anyone at Geumgang Academy was bound to know her.
And yet, she would say things like this all the time.
「Go Eunbi」
—Come on, how am I a social butterfly? I don’t even have that many friends. I’m a loner, a loner!
What a fraud.
In my previous life, when I saw that message, I was dumbfounded.
Just how high was her standard for having a lot of friends that she could say something like that?
Her epithets included “self-proclaimed” loner, gentle fraud, and social hub, so that said enough.
As one might infer from that, in the game, she played the role of bringing information to Kang Hanbyeol, who was ignorant of what was going on around him.
“Great! I’m applying there too. It’s really nice to meet someone here who’s applying to the same academy. I’m Go Eunbi. Let’s get along from now on.”
Since she had approached me first, this was a stroke of luck for me.
I had been thinking of approaching her anyway.
“I’m Do Gyeonwoo. Nice to meet you.”
“So your name is Do Gyeonwoo. If we happen to meet during the exam, let’s cooperate then.”
“That depends on the content of the exam. If we meet as enemies, then it can’t be helped, but if that’s not the case, I won’t try to keep you in check.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Let’s have a fair competition! No trying to hold each other back just to make the other fail.”
Go Eunbi nodded vigorously at my words and responded with a cheerful expression.
She was exactly as I had seen her in the game.
‘If I had to compare her to an animal, I’d say she has the look of a cute, friendly puppy.’
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so, because in the game community, people often described Go Eunbi as a Welsh corgi.
Among those, there was one meme so famous that even people who didn’t know the game knew about it.
It was an image of Go Eunbi with brown dog ears, holding a bone labeled “Information” in her mouth and wagging her tail to be praised by her master.
‘There was even a speech bubble that said, “Woof!”’
When I thought of that meme…
I couldn’t help but feel even more affection toward Go Eunbi.
However…
‘She’s being shy.’
Unlike me, Yeon Haneul was hiding behind my back, clearly shy.
It seemed even Go Eunbi’s smile, which was said to break down people’s wariness, didn’t work on Yeon Haneul.
Even so, she didn’t seem to mind and kept talking to Yeon Haneul.
“Won’t you tell me your name too? Honestly, ever since I first got on the ship, my eyes kept going to you. I like pretty people! Your hair is really beautiful. It’s natural, not dyed, right?”
“…I’m Yeon Haneul. Hi.”
“Mm, hi! If it’s okay, can I touch your ears? Wow, rabbit ears…”
“Um… Sorry.”
Whoosh. The moment Go Eunbi tried to close the distance, Yeon Haneul completely hid behind me.
Using me as a shield, Yeon Haneul pushed against my back.
Then she whispered to me.
“Do something. I can’t handle people who are that lively and sparkly!”
“Just treat her like you treat me…”
“How am I supposed to treat her like I treat you? I’m close to you, but I just met her. Besides, that kind of person is too much for a loner like me…”
…There was another loner here too.
Ah, she might be an actual loner.
After hearing Yeon Haneul’s whisper, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Having no choice, I decided to smooth things over in Yeon Haneul’s place.
“Uh… She’s just a bit shy. And demi-humans’ ears are sensitive, so you shouldn’t touch them carelessly. Same goes for their tails. Please understand.”
“Ah, I see. I didn’t know that and just asked to touch them as I pleased. I’m sorry.”
“…No, it’s okay.”
Go Eunbi wasn’t tactless.
She understood Yeon Haneul’s attitude and was careful not to burden her any further.
After exchanging a few more words, she waved and stepped back.
“Then I came with some other kids, so I’ll head back now. Gyeonwoo, Haneul, see you next time!”
“Yeah, see you next time.”
“…Bye, take care.”
Before long, the ship finally arrived at the harbor.
Buildings with a near-futuristic air and the World Tree hidden by clouds in the distance looked down on us.
[This passenger ship will now dock at Academy City. We sincerely thank all passengers for traveling with us today. Please make sure you have not left anything behind, and disembark according to the crew’s instructions. Lastly, we wish all examinees the best of luck.]
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss